The haunting songs of the Men of the DeepsIn May 1992, 26 men were killed in the Westray Mine disaster. Within eight days, a massive concert was organized to benefit their grieving wives and families. Thousands turned out and dozens of Nova Scotia's best artists performed. But one group moved the crowd more than all others - The Men of the Deeps.
Their songs were haunting, their voices robust and rich. But what made their performance particularly poignant is that all the Men of the Deeps have toiled in the mines too. No musical testimonial could speak so directly to the bereaved families as the comforting songs of these stalwart men. That night, in their workaday dark blue overalls with the lights on their hard hats shining, The Men of the Deeps sang from painful personal experience. And all around the hushed hall, tears streamed down faces and no hands were lifted to wipe them off.
The Men of the Deeps have been moving audiences since 1967. Today, the choir consists of 28 miners or former miners ranging in age from 23 to 84, many of whom have been singing together since its inaugural concert. Despite a broad repertoire of traditional and contemporary mining songs, The Men of the Deeps are still best known perhaps as the inspiration—and back-up singers—for Rita MacNeil’s hit, Working Man. The choir has performed across Canada, in the United States and in Japan but its home base is still the Glace Bay Miner’s Museum. Every Tuesday night from late June to Labour Day—except for the traditional Miner’s Vacation during the last week of July and the first two of August—The Men of the Deeps give a concert in the museum’s auditorium. Never advertised but always packed, the concert attracts visitors from across the continent.
And no matter where they’re from, audiences never fail to be touched by the gentle simplicity of Cape Breton’s singing miners.